The Times newspaper, it's fair to say, was not a huge fan of the League Cup when it was introduced in 1960.

Instead of looking outward to new, European horizons, the Football League were instead looking inward with the creation of a new cup for their 92 members.

The Times, in May 1960, wrote: "Where a drastic reduction is required in an attempt to raise quality, no doubt quantity and a further spread of mediocrity will be the dose.

"Where men like Count Bernabeu with his wider horizons, think in terms of a European-league for the future ... the Football League propose next season to implement their useless Football League Cup to be played in midweek.

"It gets the players, the clubs and the public nowhere."

Nearer the start of the first ever League Cup season, The Times were still in critical mood. One reporter wrote: "Our game is now further to be saddled by a pointless, prosaic, parochial new tournament."

Who knows what that correspondent would have made of the Zenith Data Systems Cup or the Johnstone's Paint Trophy!

The Football League originally proposed the League Cup as part of a scheme to reduce the number of clubs in each division and, consequently, the number of games played each season.

The reduction in numbers was not agreed to by the league’s member clubs, however, causing the ties to be squeezed into the existing fixture list.

Ties were intended to be played midweek under floodlights, as they are these days.

However, some 3pm kick-offs were needed since not all clubs had floodlights in 1960.

Though all 92 Football League clubs were eligible to participate, Arsenal, Sheffield Wednesday, West Bromwich Albion, Wolves and Tottenham did not enter.

There were hardly financial reasons to do so - the prize money for winning the competition, after all, was only £750.

In the semi finals, Aston Villa beat reigning league champions Burnley while Second Division Rotherham defeated Third Division Shrewsbury over two legs.

Due to fixture congestion, the first two-legged League Cup final was held over until the 1961/62 season had started. As a result, winners Aston Villa started their defence nine days after lifting the silverware!

Peter McParland scored Villa's second leg winner as they came from 0-2 down in the first leg to triumph 3-0 at Villa Parl.

As a result, he carved out a little piece of English football history for himself as the first player to score in, and win, both major domestic knockout finals.

Four years earlier, the Irishman had scored both Villa's goals in a 2-0 FA Cup final win over Manchester United.

In 1961/62 there were only three fourth round ties.

An amazing five clubs - including eventual finalists Norwich and Rochdale - received byes to the quarter finals.

Rochdale, the first Fourth Division club to ever reach the final, had dumped out second tier Saints in the first round.

Entry to the competition was not mandatory for Football League clubs until 1971/72 - six seasons after the final had been switched from a two-legged affair to a one-off Wembley occasion in a bid to inject extra glamour.

Though five clubs did not enter in the first season, that figure tumbled to ten in 1961/62 while the following season 12 clubs chose to stay away.

After 83 clubs entered in 1965/66, all but two entered the following season.

The bigger entry was reflected in the decision to play the final at Wembley and also to grant the winners entry to the European Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (later the UEFA Cup).

The 1969/70 was the first season when all 92 clubs entered, though league champions Everton opted out of the 1970/71 season.

After entry became compulsory in 1971/72, there has only been one occasion when not every club has competed.

That was in 1986/87 when Luton Town were thrown out for refusing to lift the club’s ban on away supporters entering Kenilworth Road.